


Buddies For Life

by thekingslover



Category: How to Get Away with Murder
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, M/M, kid!Coliver
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-24
Updated: 2015-06-24
Packaged: 2018-04-05 23:48:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4199715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thekingslover/pseuds/thekingslover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver has a crooked smile, all teeth - some of them missing. “Is that me?” he asks, pointing to the boy with the round glasses standing beside Connor’s stick figure.</p><p>“Course it is.” Connor snorts. How silly can Oliver be. There’s no Connor without Oliver.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sharing Is Caring

Young Connor and Oliver being the best of friends, sharing their crayons as they draw and color in class. They are supposed to draw themselves.

Connor quickly sketches in a stick figure with some brown hair for himself before spending more time drawing the outline of a figure beside his own.

“Don’t look!” Connor shouts at Oliver when he tries to peer across the table. Connor brings the paper closer and covers the end protectively with his arm.

Oliver’s dark eyes widen. His bottom lip trembles. “Why not?” They never kept secrets before.

“It’s not…” Connor frowns. He doesn’t want Oliver to cry. “It’s just a surprise!”

Oliver’s shoulders lift. “A surprise?” No one can resist a good surprise!

“For you!” Connor nods, knowingly, before he leans forward to whisper, “But you have to let me finish it, okay?”

Some time later, after Connor spends several minutes making sure he drew Oliver’s glasses _just right_ , he announces to the whole class, “Done!”

His teacher comes over and snatches away the picture to hold it up. Connor reaches for it - he had only meant to show it to Oliver - but when he sees Oliver’s face, he sits back down in his seat.

Oliver has a crooked smile, all teeth - some of them missing. “Is that me?” he asks, pointing to the boy with the round glasses standing beside Connor’s stick figure.

“Course it is.” Connor snorts. How silly can Oliver be. There’s no Connor without Oliver. 

“This isn’t quite what I had expected,” the teacher says, returning the drawing to Connor. “What did you draw, Oliver?”

Oliver’s smile wavers. Cheeks turning pink, he holds up his picture for her. Connor can see it, too.

“It’s an alligator!” Connor says, smiling now, too.

“Your favorite,” Oliver says.

Connor nods.

“I made it for you,” Oliver says and passes it over.

Connor gasps. Oliver is the best friend in the whole world. Gently, he places Oliver’s alligator to the side and looks down at his own drawing. He wants to give it to Oliver, but he wishes they could share it. He likes the two of them together.

The teacher looks between them. “We can hang yours on the wall, boys? If you’d like? So you can always see them.”

Later that day, side by side, Connor and Oliver stare at their drawings hanging on the wall, the couple of them and the alligator. 

Connor takes Oliver’s hand. “Buddies for life?”

Oliver nods so hard his glasses fall down his nose.

Twenty years later, still side by side, they look at the same drawings, framed now and hanging in the study of their house. Connor takes Oliver’s hand and traces his thumb across the cool band on Oliver’s ring finger.

“Buddies for life?” Connor asks.

Oliver smiles, but shakes his head. “ _More_.”


	2. At the Carnival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Young Connor and Oliver holding hands and staring up at the large stuffed bears hanging from the ceiling of the carnival booth. It’s a milk-bottle game. Throw a ball, knock over five milk-bottles, win a prize.
> 
> It sounds easy enough.

Young Connor and Oliver holding hands and staring up at the large stuffed bears hanging from the ceiling of the carnival booth. It’s a milk-bottle game. Throw a ball, knock over five milk-bottles, win a prize.

It sounds easy enough.

Except, ten dollars in, at most Connor has only knocked over three. He holds his consolation prize, a much smaller bear with a heart on its nose, and tries not to pout. He and Oliver had been having fun at the fair. He doesn’t want to ruin his best friend’s time.

He looks up and finds Oliver staring at him.

“You don’t like that one?” 

Connor shrugs. “I wanted the big one.”

Oliver frowns, then turns toward the booth. He digs two dollars out of his pocket and hands them to the man in exchange for a baseball.

“What are you doing?” Connor asks. He doesn’t want Oliver to be disappointed like him. They can just go ride the Ferris wheel instead.

Oliver ignores him and pitches. The ball hits the milk bottles with a thud, and the whole tower crumples. All five milk bottles on the floor, Connor can only stare, wide-eyed, mouth hanging open.

“Which one do you like, Connor?” Oliver asks, pointing up to the bears.

“Me? You should choose. It’s yours.”

Oliver shakes his head, smiling. “I want you to have it.”

Connor’s heart does a funny twist. Some butterflies take flight in his stomach. He wishes Oliver could smile like that all the time, always.

“I want you to have everything you want,” Oliver says.

Connor picks the bear with round glasses. The man working the booth hands it to Oliver who hands it to Connor, who immediately buries his face in it so Oliver can’t see his blush.

“Thank you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on my tumblr Coliver sideblog 'monicashipscoliver.' Thanks for reading! :D


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